Hamady and a regained sense of hope
Providing access to justice for children on the move in Mauritania
Hamady Gueye, 19, is from a poor suburb in Nouakchott, Mauritania. When he was 14 and living with his family in Senegal life was not easy. He started to get into trouble, lost interest in learning and dropped out of school. His father brought the family to Mauritania and setup a welding business, working right on the main dusty road that runs through the area, and making many items from metal to sell to passing customers. Hamady was often on the streets.
Life on the streets here can be dangerous. Violence can suddenly erupt. Many young people here carry knives, get into fights, and are killed.
One day, after a wedding ceremony there was a large fight with many boys on the street near Hamady’s home. One boy was hit over the head with a heavy piece of wood. Tragically, three days later the boy died in hospital. The police came and rounded up many of the boys. Hamady’s brother was charged with murder and Hamady with manslaughter, along with two other boys. Whilst his brother was taken to a closed prison, Hamady was taken to the Centre for Social Reintegration of Children in Conflict with the Law (CARSEC).
Life had changed dramatically - his freedom had been taken away. Inside the centre he was detained in a dormitory with many other boys his age, for most of the day. Since his family were poor and could not pay the high costs for a lawyer. Hamady had little hope.
My world had changed forever.
After two difficult years, a court declared Hamady not guilty. Age 16, he was released from CARSEC and finally able to go home. It was a huge relief and a change to make a fresh start.
He followed in his father’s footsteps, taking the skills he had learnt inside into the world outside. “Now, welding is now not just my passion, but my career,” says Hamady.
If Hamady had not received legal assistance and help from social workers, his life would look very different. “I could have spent many more years in prison as a child and would not have the skills and outlook I have today,” he says.
Hamady’s experiences have taught him that the future is not always certain, and so he takes each day as it comes. But Hamady tells us that, “Thanks to the support I received my future looks hopeful.”
UNICEF and the European Union are protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse through building rights-based and child-centred justice systems and responding to the needs of children on the move in West Africa.
Thousands of children have benefitted from the interventions across the six countries thanks to this partnership in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.
